12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel,
“Since you have rejected this word
And have put your trust in oppression and guile, and have relied on them,
13 Therefore this iniquity will be to you
Like a breach about to fall,
A bulge in a high wall,
Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant,
14 Whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter’s jar,
[n]So ruthlessly shattered
That a sherd will not be found among its pieces
To [o]take fire from a hearth
Or to scoop water from a cistern.”15 For thus the Lord [p]God, the Holy One of Israel, has said,
“In [q]repentance and rest you will be saved,
In quietness and trust is your strength.”
But you were not willing,
16 And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses,”
Therefore you shall flee!
“And we will ride on swift horses,”
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.
17 One thousand will flee at the threat of one man;
You will flee at the threat of five,
Until you are left as a [r]flag on a mountain top
And as a signal on a hill.18 Therefore the Lord [s]longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He [t]waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who [u]long for Him.
There is quite the contrast in this section of Isaiah 30, and in the first we see that the people have put their trust in oppression and guile. That is, not in doing what is right, but my extracting money from those lower than themselves. How else did they get all the money to send to Egypt (see earlier parts of Isaiah 30)? Added to that, they were engaged in underhanded dealings (guile), and trying to make alliances without their attackers finding out.
The next verses paint quite the picture, as it is like a bridge about to collapse, or a wall bulging like it is about to burst. I’m sure we’ve all seen those sorts of things, and their doom is imminent. When a bridge lets go, it isn’t a slow thing, but very dramatic and swift. Yet I can almost see the Israelites engaged in their sneaky behavior saying, “There’s nothing to see here! Ignore that bridge, it’s fine, it couldn’t possibly have any problems!”
God tells them the end is near, and will be swift, but also shows them the opposite side of the coin. He reminds them that their salvation is in repentance and rest. But they were not willing, “What, you mean we can just do the right thing, and rest, and we’ll be all right? Hah!” So they trusted in their horses, though running away doesn’t solve anything, and they ought to have known that.
But likely, it was just the rulers who hoped to get away, leaving the common folk to deal with the conquering armies. And still, God longed to be gracious to them, to have compassion on them, but “they were not willing”. God doesn’t make sense to us sometimes, or maybe a lot times, depending on who you are. I mean really, they were just supposed to rest and repent?
Yes, we also are supposed to follow God’s commands, and those include resting, and not burning ourselves out trying to make more money to cover for our bad judgment. Do the right thing, do things God’s way, and trust Him to make it all work out.
As Jesus reminded us, God takes care of the sparrows and lilies, and all of creation. Jesus didn’t die for sparrows and lilies, He died for you and me, so how much more will He take care of us when we follow Him? His commands, including the “Sabbath” and rest, are for our good. God wants to show us grace and compassion, but we need to remember v. 15, “In repentance and rest you will be saved,
In quietness and trust is your strength.”