Today let’s look at Isaiah 30:1-15. The title of today’s message is “Obstinate children”. In verse 1 it says, “Woe to the obstinate children.” These are the people of Southern Judah. At that time the Southern kingdom of Judah was attacked by Assyria. In such predicament they sought help from Egypt, not God. Such actions are like “obstinate children” so God calls them “obstinate children” in verse 1. They needed to depend upon God, not man. They needed to seek God’s plans, not make plans by their own thinking. However, they didn’t. Today from the portrait of the “obstinate children” (1) let’s look at how we Christians should be and what kind of attitude we should have.

I. Rahab the Do-Nothing (vs. 1-7)
First of all let’s look at verses 1 to 7. First let’s read verses 1 and 2. “’Woe to the obstinate children,’ declares the LORD, ‘to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin; who go down to Egypt without consulting me; who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection, to Egypt’s shade for refuge.’”
Here it says, “to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin.” (1) In Isaiah’s age this was the time when Assyria from the North and tried to destroy the Southern kingdom of Judah. Assyria had already swallowed up Northern Israel, and with violent forced pushed its way to the southern kingdom of Judah. Then it tried to surround Jerusalem. They thought about what would be good, what they should do and made many plans. They sought help from Egypt. They thought that Egypt would certainly help them. They though no matter how strong Assyria was, Egypt was even stronger. They thought that if they were partnered with Egypt then they would be o.k. Therefore, they formed an alliance with Egypt. However that was not God’s will. They left God out of the plans. It was not by God’s Spirit. They made the plans by their own thinking. Therefore, they are the “obstinate children.” (1)
For man to make plans in and of itself is not bad. When God made everything in heaven and earth he made plans and made it. Also when God made the first man first he made everything that was necessary for man. He prepared everything. God takes planned actions. Therefore, man who was made in the image of God also is a being that does planning. Carrying out plans is human like. Animal are not like that. They move by instinct. They don’t think about things and then take action. However, man is different. Man was made in the image of God so like God he makes plans and puts them into action. Therefore, to make plans in and of itself is not bad. To make various plans and put them into action is important. Seeking advice from various people is also o.k. Getting a second opinion and making a decision that considers all the aspects is important. The problem is when those plans are not of God. The problem is leaving God out and making plans by yourself. They carried “out plans that are not mine”. (1) This heaped “sin upon sin”. (1)
First of all we should seek God. By God we should make plans. Before we make our own plans, we must recognize that God has a plan. We must recognize that before we were born God had a plan for us. In fact, we should participate in that plan. However, it’s too bad, but we carry out plans without God. We seek solutions in the world rather than in God. For example, counseling based on psychology is one example. Even if a disguised approach that seems like it is based upon the Bible it is still the world’s wisdom, and is based upon worldly thinking. It is nothing more than human thinking, the plans of man. That is “heaping sin upon sin.” (1)
Also here it says, “forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit.” (1) This is referring to the alliance made with Egypt. This is the same thing as carrying “out plans”. (1) They formed “an alliance, but not by my Spirit.” (1) It was not by God’s Spirit. It was simply based upon their own thinking.
The word that is used for “alliance” literally means “blanket”. The same word is used in 28:20. There it says, “The blanket too narrow to wrap around you.” This “blanket” is translated as “alliance”. They didn’t know what to do about the attack of Assyria so the formed an alliance with Egypt. However, that was “too narrow”. (28:20) It was lacking. It wasn’t enough. A blanket is something that covers you. They thought that Egypt would cover them. They sought Egypt to cover them, to take care of them, to protect them, not the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. This is sin. To try to find covering in other things than God and His Spirit is sin.
Do you know the comic strip, “Peanuts” that is famous for Snoopy? In that comic strip Linus a young boy is always carrying a security blanket. He is secure only when he has his security blanket. Southern Judah sought this security in Egypt. As verse 2 says, they went “down to Egypt without consulting” God. They looked “for help to Pharaoh’s protection to Egypt’s shade for refuge.” (2) However, that also was sin.
What are you always covering yourself with? What is always protecting you? What is always taking care of you? What gives you security and what are you anxious when you don’t have it? For some people that might be a cell phone. When they don’t have their cell phone they feel anxious. That is “a dependency upon cell phones”. They are always and everywhere looking at their cell phone screen. If they have their cell phone, they feel secure, but when they don’t they feel anxious. That is a security blanket. Some people can’t live without a T.V. For others it’s a computer. We become dependent upon such things. That is the same a forming an alliance with Egypt. We have a blanket, “but not by my Spirit.” (1) God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit is living within us. Those who believe in Jesus have God’s Spirit living within them. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit that we received from God. Even so we don’t depend on the Holy Spirit, but upon a security blanket. We seek security in our cell phones, the T.V., the computer, etc, not in God’s Spirit. We seek something to cover us. That is the same as making an alliance with Egypt.
Please open your Bibles to Zechariah 4:6.
Zechariah 4:6
Judah depended upon might. They depended upon strength. But they didn’t depend upon God’s Spirit. No matter what plans you carry out, if it is not by God, if it is not by God’s Spirit, then it is sin. It is “heaping sin upon sin.” (1)
How about you? How is Assyria threatening you? For some people it may be a financial problem. For others, it may be a problem at work. For other people it may be troubles in human relationships. How are you dealing with such problems? If you are like Judah and without God thinking yourself and making your plans for dealing with things, or are seeking advice from various people, or are borrowing strength from other people and are depending upon might or power and aren’t seeking God’s Spirit, you will have no peace. If it not by God, not by God’s Spirit then it is “heaping sin upon sin.” (1)
Please look at verses 3 to 5. Here tells us the result of not depending upon God, but depending upon Egypt.
“Pharaoh’s protection will be to” (3) their shame. Seeking refuge in “Egypt’s shade will bring” (3) them disgrace. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree that they were not to eat from, they realized that they were naked. It was accompanied by shame. They thought they would gain the wisdom of “God, knowing good and evil,” (Genesis 3:5), but the result was shame. When we depend upon the knowledge of the world, we won’t have the peace that we expected, but it will be accompanied by shame and dishonor.
The “officials” and “envoys” of verse 4 are the envoys that the Southern kingdom of Judah sent to make an alliance with Egypt. Today that would be people like the Minister of Foreign Affairs. “Zoan” (4) and “Hanes” (4) are Egyptian cities. Even though they arrive there, they are “useless”. (5) Instead they will bring “shame and disgrace”. (5) If your actions are by your own wisdom, your own thinking, your own logic and not by God, not by God’s Spirit, then you will surely fail.
Not only that, but please look at verse 6. It says, “A prophecy concerning the animals of the Negev: Through a land of hardship and distress, of lions and lionesses, of adders and darting snakes, the envoys carry their riches on donkeys’ backs, their treasures on the humps of camels, to that unprofitable nation.”

“Negev” (6) is a name of a place. The wilderness to the south of Judah was called “Negev”. (6) Usually when people went from Judah to Egypt they didn’t go through Negev. Wild animals came out there and bandits came out there so it involved danger. Therefore, usually they went through the area of Philistia along the coast. That was safer and you could go much faster. However, if they went through there it would be known that they went down to Egypt. If they could they wanted to make an alliance with Egypt in secret so they ventured to take the dangerous road there. That was through Negev. However, it involved danger. “Lions and lionesses” (6) attack. There were also “adders and darting snakes”. (6) These “darting snakes” were thought to be like huge lizards with wings. Such things attack. Therefore, taking such a route was hard. It involved “hardship and distress”. (6) There was continuous “hardship and distress” (6) in seeking help from Egypt. Even so Egypt’s “help is utterly useless.” (7) Please look at verse 7. Here it says, “to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless. Therefore I call her Rahab the Do-Nothing.” “Rahab” (7) is another name for Egypt. It means “storm” or “arrogance” or “rave”. Egypt is like a storming, raving, arrogant man. He stormed and raved, but did nothing. This is this world. Egypt is a symbol of this world. “Rahab the Do-Nothing”. (7) He storms and raves with his mouth and seems so strong, but in reality “is utterly useless”. (7) This is this world. These are the things that we depend upon. But their “help is utterly useless.” (7) First of all we must ask God what He desires of us, what is good and accepting to God, seek what God wants, and walk in that way. Our real help is only in the all powerful God. We must ask Him.

II. “Walk the Lord’s small path (Vs. 8-11)
Next please look at verses 8 to 11.
Verses 8-11
God told Isaiah to make a record by writing God’s words on a scroll. That was so that in “the days to come” (8) the people will understand that the Words came from God and that their “hardship and distress” (6) was because they did not follow God’s word. God had warned them in advance, and to show them that it will happen just as the words said, God said to record God’s Words. This is God’s Word, the Bible. The Words of the Bible continue on forever from age to age and will be completely fulfilled. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” (Matt. 5:18)
God’s Word “will not by any means disappear”. (Matt. 5:18) Everything will be accomplished. This Word of God which eternally never changes is the only thing that is worthy of being depended on so we should only depend upon it.

Even so “the obstinate children” (1) didn’t accept these Words. Please look at verse 9. Here it says, “For these are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the LORD’s instruction.” This is talking about the people of Judah. They were “unwilling to listen to the LORD’s instruction.” (9) They didn’t care about the Word of God. They thought that more than the Word of God, there were more relevant and efficient resources and didn’t listen to the Word of God at all. God calls them “rebellious people, deceitful children.” (9)
That’s not all. Look at verses 10 and 11. It says “They say to the seers, ‘see no more visions!’ and to the prophets, ‘Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions.’” (10) The “seers” (10) and “prophets” (10) beginning with Isaiah were to bring God’s Word to the people. They received God’s Word and then spoke it. Such people were called “seers” (10) or “prophets” (10) They said to these people “see no more visions!” (10) and “Give us no more visions”. (10) That is because they knew that the “seers” (10) and “prophets” (10) beginning with Isaiah were saying the right thing. However it didn’t suit them well. They didn’t like what was said. Therefore, they wanted to be told “pleasant things.” (10) They were so bold as to say, “Prophesy illusions.” (10) This is terrible! They are saying to twist the Bible and say what is pleasing to them.
Please look at verse 11. These people will eventually say the following, “Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel.” (11) What words!!! “Stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel.” (11) “This way” (11) or “this path” (11) is the Lord’s Word, the way of the Lord. Isaiah 2:3 says, “Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” In other words, “This way” (11) or “this path” (11) is the Lord’s path, the Lord’s teaching. To “Leave this way, get off this path” is to get off the path of God’s Word. That is nothing more than to withdraw from God himself. To reject God’s Word is to reject God himself. It is unthinkable that a person would say he is a Christian, but he doesn’t want to listen to the Word of God. Such a person in reality is withdrawing from God. Even he says with his lips that he believes in God, if he is withdrawing from the Word of God then in reality it is the same as withdrawing from God. Therefore, he is called a “rebellious people, deceitful children”. (9) It is a lie that he believes in God and a lie that he is a Christian. He is only pretending.
Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matt. 7:21-23) This is fearful. Just because a person says, “Lord, Lord” doesn’t mean that he is a Christian. Even though they prophesied in Jesus’ name and drove out demons and performed many miracles in Jesus’ name, Jesus said, “I never knew you. I never knew you.” The problem was that even if these people listened to the Word of God, they didn’t follow it. They got off the path. They didn’t realize it. They thought they were Christians, but in reality they had withdrawn from God. They made a God that suits them well. They were only just calling their god Jesus Christ.
People want to hear a talk that suits them well. They don’t want to hear what they hate. They hate to confront what is a terrible reality for themselves. If possible, they want other people to say good things. They want others to talk with soft words, and words that are easy to accept. However, that doesn’t bring any change. Thomas Winston, a Puritan preacher said that Satan puts people in a cradle of peace and rocks it. Even when people stand at the precipice of hell, Satan calls out peace. However, God says to repent, humble yourself and after that there is peace. The peace that a lot of people talk about is the peace before a storm. However, please don’t forget that real peace comes after the storm. God gives the highest peace to the hurting heart.
Proverbs 27:5 says, “better is open rebuke than hidden love.” We don’t like “open rebuke.” (Proverbs 27:5) We have a tendency to avoid people who point out our mistakes. However, “better is open rebuke than hidden love.” (Proverbs 27:5) Let’s be thankful for such whips of love.
God’s Word is alive and it has strength. “It penetrates even to dividing … joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart”. (Hebrews 4:12) There are Words that painfully pierce our hearts. There are also Words that are kind like, “I drench you with tears.” (Isaiah 9:16) There are Words that comfort us like “”Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28) There are Words that encourage us like, “Do not fear, for I am with you.” (Isaiah 41:10) However, all these are Words of the same God. To accept these Words of God and the Word of God and follow them is to walk this path. There is blessing in doing so. Let’s accept the Word of God as it is and not withdraw from it or take it with a grain of salt, but follow it.

III. Repent and rest (vs. 12-15)
Lastly let’s look at verses 12 to 15. I will read verses 12 to 14.
Vs. 12 -14
Here it tells us what will happen to the “obstinate children” (1) who do not listen to the Lord’s teaching. The result is written here. “This message” is the Bible. “Because you have rejected this message, relied on oppression and depended on deceit” (12) the result is “this sin will become for you like a high wall, cracked and bulging, that collapses suddenly, in an instant.” (13) If “you have rejected this message” (12) and have removed God from your life. And continue to live your own life style, then it will definitely lead to your own destruction. It will lead to your ruin. It is “like a high wall, cracked and bulging. It may be only a really small crack, but even so the towering wall will completely collapse. It was only a tiny crack, and it was only a tiny sin, but the whole wall collapses. You yourself fall too. You have nothing to watch over you. The wall falls on you, and chokes you. It leads to your own destruction. It will dig your own grave. A person who withdraws from the Word of God will certainly dig his own grave. Before I said that it will bring “shame and disgrace.” (5) However, this is not all. It will lead to destruction.
This will happen “suddenly”. (13) It will be “in an instant.” (13) For a while he may think that he is taken care of so he’s o.k. He thinks that he is holding hands with Egypt so all is secure. He thinks that by his own thinking all will go well. He is surrounded by a wall so there is no problem. He thinks that even if he doesn’t listen to God’s Word, he’s been hanging in with no problem. He’s been doing such a good job. He’s lacking nothing. He’s full to the brim. It’s safe. He insists that he has peace of mind. However, some day, from that tiny crack a huge collapse will begin. It will be “suddenly, in an instant.” (13) It will bring destruction. From something very small destruction will occur. You can’t ignore a tiny crack.
It will be destruction like when the potter breaks pottery mercilessly into pieces. When the potter breaks pottery mercilessly into pieces, “among its pieces not a fragment will be found for taking coals from a hearth or scooping water out of a cistern.” (14)Among the fragments there is nothing left that can be used they are “shattered so mercilessly.” (14) It will be shattered to the point where their life cannot be started over again and his life will be useless.
This is a warning. It is a warning to the “Obstinate children”. (1) They made plans, but they didn’t depend upon God. They had lots of plans. They had many things that they wanted to know. They had so much that they wanted to do. They thought they had a plan so that everything would go o.k. They thought they could depend on their wisdom and their experience up until now so they’d be o.k. However, this is clearly sin. The result is “only shame and disgrace.” (5) They were disgraced. They had to take the long route, “through a land of hardship and distress” (6) facing many dangers. In the end from a tiny crack in the wall, everything collapsed and was destroyed. Everything was completely shattered. Everything was “shattered so mercilessly” (14) that they wondered what their life had been up until then. They are completely useless. Even the broken piece can’t be used.

Therefore, what is the solution? Where is there salvation? Please look at verse 15. It says, “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.” Here is salvation. If you return to the Lord “in quietness” (15) you will be saved. If you trust in the Lord, you will have strength. A huge enemy like Assyria may come attacking you. You may be in a situation where the enemy has surrounded you and there is no place to escape to. You may be worrying about finances, or health or human relationship or your job. However, if you return to the Lord “in quietness” (15) you will be saved. Repent of the way you have lived your life up until now, and turn towards the true God, and you will be saved. “In quietness and trust” (15) you will have strength. You mustn’t return to Egypt. Egypt is the symbol of the world. You mustn’t depend on this world. You have been saved from this world. Since you have been saved from this world don’t return back to it. You must trust in God, then you will be saved. You will receive strength.
The Southern kingdom of Judah repented and returned to God and were saved. Assyria surrounded them, but the Lord’s angel came and in one night killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. By that Judah was saved. “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.” Please don’t forget this. Don’t be “obstinate children.” (1) Be children that follow God, children who trust in God. There you will find God’s certain salvation and strength.