QT 23/03/2025 Sun. Isaiah 30. Two Different Outcomes of Choices. 选择的两种不同结果.

QT 23/03/2025 Sun. Isaiah 30. Two Different Outcomes of Choices.
READ http://www.esvbible.org/isaiah30

Isaiah 30:1–2
[1] “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD,
“who carry out a plan, but not mine,
and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit,
that they may add sin to sin;
[2] who set out to go down to Egypt,
without asking for my direction,
to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh
and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt! (ESV)

Isaiah 30:1–7 scorned the idea of asking help of the Egypt of Isaiah's time (probably about 700 B.C.). Help from nations and other humans could not be compared with help from God. In fact, the outcome of shame and unprofitability would categorise all help other than from The LORD (30:3–4). What does Egypt have that the LORD doesn't? Judah and the remainder of God's people down the line of history frequently experienced the fickleness of human commitment. Even though the threat of Assyria in the east was on the rise, Egypt was not the only option to seek help from.

Who truly cares for you? Behind the "care" of nations frequently hides interest–self-interest rather than genuine care. The accounts of Exodus 1-15 had shown how the Egypt of Moses' time deployed Moses' contemporaries as slaves to be exploited. The surprise was why Isaiah's contemporaries still continued to hope in Egypt, when Egypt only looked upon them as a buffer against Assyrian aggression?

APPLICATION: It is futile to carry out any plan that is not connected with God's plan because this would end in "shame and disgrace" (30:5) and "sits still" like running on the spot. The temptation to carry on with one's own plan is frequently "tempting" and "exciting" in a negative sense. Therefore, be careful to search for and do God's will.

Isaiah 30:8–17 point to the symptom of people surrounding themselves with others that would echo what they wanted to hear, for example

Isaiah 30:10–11
[10] who say to the seers, “Do not see,”
and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right;
speak to us smooth things,
prophesy illusions,
[11] leave the way, turn aside from the path,
let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.” (ESV)

Rejection of the wise teachers, sidelining the prophets who carried the message of God and eventually rejecting God Himself directly became the ever familiar tune of those who reject God in different periods of human history. The shades might be a little different, the symbols or text might differ but the core of the upheaval remained much the same in common—rejection of God and what He stood for. Do note that even when humans reject God, He still speaks loudly in various forms.

Isaiah 30:18
Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him. (ESV)

APPLICATION: The alternative of turning to God and not Egypt would lead to a different outcome. "You shall have a song as in the night" (30:29) points to rejoicing even in the most challenging situations when God's people turn to Him. The prophet hoped that his readers would make the correct choices.

QT 23/03/2025 星期日. 以赛亚书 30 选择的两种不同结果
阅读 http://m.bbintl.org/bible/ncv/isa/30

以赛亚书 30:1-2 耶和华说：“这些悖逆的儿女有祸了！他们实行计谋，却不是出于我的意思，他们结盟，却不是出于我的灵，以致罪上加罪。2 他们起程下埃及去，并没有求问我，却要在法老的保护下，作避难处，投靠在埃及的荫庇下。

以赛亚书 30：1-7 蔑视向以赛亚所处时代（可能是公元前 700 年左右）向埃及求助的想法。来自国家和其他人的帮助无法与来自上帝的帮助相提并论。事实上，羞耻和无利可图的结果会将所有非耶和华的帮助归为一类（30:3-4）。埃及有什么是耶和华没有的呢？犹大和上帝的子民在历史长河中经常经历人类承诺的善变。即使东方的亚述正在崛起，埃及也不是寻求帮助的唯一选择。

谁真正关心你？国家的 “关怀” 背后往往隐藏着利益--自我利益而非真正的关怀。出埃及记 1-15 章的记载表明，摩西时代的埃及是如何将摩西同时代的人当作奴隶来剥削的。令人惊讶的是，埃及只是将以赛亚的同时代人视为抵御亚述侵略的缓冲地带，为什么他们仍然对埃及抱有希望呢？

应用：执行任何与神的计划无关的计划都是徒劳的，因为这样做的结果是 “羞耻和凌辱”（30:5），没有前进，就像在原地奔跑一样。继续执行自己计划的诱惑经常是负面意义上的 “诱惑 ”和 “刺激”。因此，要小心寻找并遵行上帝的旨意。

《以赛亚书》30:8-17 指出了人们与其他人为伍的症状，这些人会附和他们想听的话，例如

以赛亚书 30:10-11 他们对先见说：“你们不要再看异象！”又对先知说：“你们不要再向我说真确的预言！倒要向我说动听的话，预言虚幻的事吧！ 11 你们要离开正道，转离义路，不要在我们面前再提以色列的圣者了！”

拒绝智慧的教师，排挤传递上帝信息的先知，最终直接拒绝上帝本人，这成为人类历史上不同时期拒绝上帝的人耳熟能详的曲调。其色调可能略有不同，符号或文字也可能不同，但动乱的核心却基本相同--拒绝上帝和祂所代表的一切。请注意，即使人类拒绝上帝，祂仍然会以各种形式大声说话。

以赛亚书 30：18
因此，耶和华必等候要恩待你们；他必兴起来怜悯你们，因为耶和华是公义的　神。等候他的，都是有福的。

应用：转向神而不转向埃及会导致不同的结果。 “你们却必歌唱，好像守圣节的夜间一样"（30:29）指出，当上帝的子民转向祂时，即使在最具挑战性的情况下也会欢欣鼓舞。先知希望他的读者能做出正确的选择。