1. Isaiah Chapter 30 The Book of
This oracle (chap. 30) and the next one (chap. 31) center on the folly of attempting to make an alliance with Egypt to ward off the Assyrian threat. Chapter 30 can hardly be understood with out the historical context being well in mind. The great historical event of the defeat of the Assyrian army recorded in Isaiah is predicted in these chapters in great detail. The historical background of chapter thirty needs to be well in mind, while reading it to understand the words of the chapter.

2. Isaiah – Chapter 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; 2who 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!
This is the fourth woe. It is a woe because it is a warning. God says in effect, "Don't go to Egypt for help, because it won't be a good thing for you to do. The rebellious children are the people of Judah (see 1:2), those who have rebelled against God. They were carrying out a plan that was not the Lord's. Specifically they were seeking an alliance with Egypt. Yahweh had forbidden returning to Egypt (Exod. 13:17; Deut. 17:16). Christians often do the same thing. God has said, "Do not go there," regarding some places that we may think will provide satisfaction for us, we sometimes go there anyway.
It is one sin to reject the LORD, and another sin all together to trust in something else. Therefore, to do what Judah did in this situation is to add sin to sin.

3. Isaiah – Chapter 30:3-5
3Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation. 4For though his officials are at Zoan and his envoys reach Hanes, 5everyone comes to shame
through a people that cannot profit them, that brings neither help nor profit, but shame and disgrace.”
From the perspective of heaven, the strength of Pharaoh was nothing. As the LORD saw it, Egypt was no substance, just a shadow.
Zoan and Hanes: These are both locations in Egypt connected with Pharaoh's forces.
The ambassadors of Egypt came to Judah, and saw that Judah had nothing to “give” them. It was foolish for the leaders of Judah to trust in a nation that looked at them this way!

4. Isaiah – Chapter 30:6
6An oracle on the beasts of the Negeb. Through a land of trouble and anguish, from where come the lioness and the lion, the adder and the flying fiery serpent, they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people that cannot profit them.
Isaiah proclaims a burden against the pack animals of Judah, which will carry the riches of Judah down to Egypt, through the wilderness, in a foolish attempt to purchase protection against the Assyrians.
As the envoys (cf. v. 4) traveled to Egypt they had to pass through the Negev, a desolate, dangerous area with wild animals (lions and snakes). The delegation from Judah took expensive gifts to Egypt on the backs of donkeys and camels. Judah's people were so desperate for help that they were willing to risk hardship and go to great expense. But Isaiah called Egypt—a nation unable to help—Rahab the Do-Nothing.

5. Isaiah – Chapter 30:7-8 7Egypt's help is worthless and empty;
therefore I have called her “Rahab who sits still.”
A Rebellious People
8And now, go, write it before them on a tablet and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever.
It will be wasted money, because the Egyptians shall help in vain and to no purpose. No wonder Isaiah feels sorry for the donkeys that will carry the treasure of Judah down to Egypt! "Dragon, sit still" -- implying that Egypt (Rahab (HSN-<H7294>)) would be of no help to Judah.
God tells Judah this before it happens, and wants it documented.
The Lord commanded Isaiah to write a public record on a table and a private one on a scroll, two enduring witnesses against His people's lack of trust in Him. The public record was for His people then to learn from, and the private one was for later generations.
God told him to write down his message so that they could not claim they had never heard it. In the future, the scroll on which the message was written would witness against them.

6. Isaiah – Chapter 30:9-11
9For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the Lord; 10who 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, 11leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”
Some people in Judah may have sought refuge in Egypt. In their desire to find security, they wanted to hear only good news. They did not welcome the truth from God's prophets. Often the truth makes us uncomfortable. We prefer lies and illusions when they make us feel more secure. It is much better to face reality than to live a lie. Don't settle for something that makes you feel comfortable but is not true.
The problem God confronted in Judah didn’t end in the days of Judah. Paul describes the same kind of heart in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 : For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

7. Isaiah – Chapter 30:12-13
12Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, “Because you despise this word
and trust in oppression and perverseness and rely on them, 13therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach in a high wall, bulging out and about to collapse, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant;
Because you despise this word Therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach ready to fall: God promises that because Judah trusted in Egypt instead of Him, everything will be broken and collapsed. Judah will be like a collapsed wall, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant. Judah will be like a shattered clay pot, which is broken in pieces.
"The interval from the first cracks until the actual collapse [of a wall] may be a long time, but when the collapse comes it is terribly sudden and irreversible. So it will be with this refusal to rely on God.

8. Isaiah – Chapter 30:14
14and its breaking is like that of a potter's vessel that is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a shard is found with which to
take fire from the hearth, or to dip
up water out of the cistern.”
There would not be one piece of the pottery left, not one large enough to carry coals on or take water from a pit. The ruin was to be complete; thus it would be with Judah when the Babylonians and Romans came to destroy them (Isa. 30:13-14).

9. Isaiah – Chapter 30:15
15For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling,
Here God offered deliverance to Judah if they would only return to Him and rest and be saved; but they would not.
God warned Judah that turning to Egypt and other nations for military might could not save them. Only God could do that. They must wait for him "in quietness and confidence.“
Trusting God’s promise means rest. When we trust God, we don’t have to strive for ourselves. We don’t have to run all about trying to protect or guard ourselves. We have the best Protector, the best Guard in God. We can rest in Him, and when we do, it shows we are really trusting in God’s promise.

10. Isaiah – Chapter 30:16
16and you said, “No! We will flee upon horses”; therefore you shall flee away; and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”; therefore your pursuers shall be swift.
Therefore you shall flee! Because Judah rejected God’s promise, and trusted in horses and other such things instead, they would need to flee! If they would have trusted God’s promise instead, they would never had reason to flee, and would have seen the LORD’s salvation and strength instead.
The unfaithful rulers of the city fled and abandoned the people of Jerusalem when they were needed most in order to save themselves at the beginning of the siege.

11. Isaiah – Chapter 30:17
17A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill.
One thousand shall flee at the threat of one: This is reversal of the promise of Leviticus 26:8, and a fulfillment of the curse promised in Leviticus 26:17 : I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you.

12. The Lord Will Be Gracious
Isaiah – Chapter 30:18-19
The Lord Will Be Gracious
18Therefore 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. 19For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you.
Though the people had turned from the Lord, He longed to be gracious and compassionate to them (v. 18; cf. v. 19) for they were in a covenant relationship with Him. He is also the God of justice, giving blessings to those who depend on Him. In the Millennium Israel will again be faithful to the Lord. And when she calls on Him (not on some other nation) for help, He will answer.

13. Isaiah – Chapter 30:20-21
20And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. 21And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
The Lord gave his people adversity for food and suffering for drink, but he promised to be with them, teach them, and guide them during hard times. God expects a lot from us, and many times following him can be painful; but he always acts out of his love for us. Next time you go through a difficult time, try to appreciate the experience and grow from it, learning what God wants to teach you. God may be showing you his love by patiently walking with you through adversity

14. Isaiah – Chapter 30:22-23
22Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, “Be gone!” 23And he will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and bread, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. In that day your livestock will graze in large pastures,
Isaiah then described what times will be like when the people live according to God's Word and are obedient to Him. In the Millennium God will send... rain, and crops will be plentiful (cf. Deut. 28:1-14). Even the animals will have plenty to eat (Isa. 30:23-24). The day of great slaughter may refer to the Battle of Armageddon (cf. Rev. 16:16; 19:17-21). After Israel's and God's enemies are defeated, Israel will enjoy great peace and an abundance of water in the land (Isa. 30:25).

15. Isaiah – Chapter 30:24-25
24and the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground will eat seasoned fodder, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork. 25And on every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
Winnowing involved separating the kernels from the chaff by throwing the grains up with a shovel and letting the wind or fan blow the chaff away.
This verse expresses the idea that there will be plenty of water in all places. Even the desert shall blossom as a rose (Isa. 35:1-10).

16. Isaiah – Chapter 30:26
26Moreover, the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day when the Lord binds up the brokenness of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.
This will be literal, not spiritual. The night will be as light as our present day and the light of the day will be increased sevenfold or be as the light of seven days.
] In the day that God blesses Israel and sets them free from all curses of the past

17. Isaiah – Chapter 30:27-28
27Behold, the name of the Lord comes from afar, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke; his lips are full of fury, and his tongue is like a devouring fire; 28his breath is like an overflowing stream that reaches up to the neck; to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction, and to place on the jaws of the peoples a bridle that leads astray.
The judgment of God will be accompanied by thick, rising smoke and words that consume like fire (see 33:14; Luke 12:49; Hebrews 12:29). People who were brought up in a church but dropped out often complain about the preaching of the wrath of God. Yet his wrath and anger are very real and are designed for the rebellious and for those who hate God, not for those who are humble and love him.

18. Isaiah – Chapter 30:29
29You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.
“Mighty” is Hebrew word “rock” (Cf. Deut 32:4).
[Ye shall have a song] Here is the Millennial song of Israel after the deliverance at Armageddon when the captives will have been freed and all Israel gathered to the Lord at Jerusalem. It will be sung as they go up to Jerusalem to fulfill Isa. 2:2-4; 35:8-10.

19. Isaiah – Chapter 30:30-31
30And the Lord will cause his majestic voice to be heard and the descending blow of his arm to be seen, in furious anger and a flame of devouring fire, with a cloudburst and storm and hailstones. 31The Assyrians will be terror-stricken at the voice of the Lord, when he strikes with his rod.
While the term “Assyrian” here specifically denotes the leader of the Assyrians here conquering the Northern Kingdom. However, there are places where the term “Assyrian” is used as an idiom of the Coming World Leader.

20. Isaiah – Chapter 30:32-33
32And every stroke of the appointed staff that the Lord lays on them will be to the sound of tambourines and lyres. Battling with brandished arm, he will fight with them. 33For a burning place has long been prepared; indeed, for the king it is made ready, its pyre made deep and wide, with fire and wood in abundance; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.
Every place where the Lord permits the appointed rod and staff of Antichrist to pass, there will be music and rejoicing when He shall fight against the scourge to destroy it completely in battle.
"The king" mentioned represents the beast and the false prophet: "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Rev. 20:10).

21. Isaiah – Chapter 30
End of Chapter 30