An Alliance with Egypt

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses and trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD! (Isa. 31:1).

"Um ... okay, Stan," you might say, "you got me. What does that have to do with anything?" I'm not entirely sure, but it raises a serious question in my mind extremely relevant to our times. I'm hoping that someone will help me out with this.

The reference is to Israel in Hezekiah's day. The superpower, Assyria, was on its way to take over their world. Judah had no military might to stand against Sennacherib's armies. What were they to do? Well, their response was logical and wise. Obtain an alliance with another superpower, and that army could help defend them against Assyria. Fortunately, Judah had a superpower just south of them -- Egypt. It made perfect sense to go to Egypt for help. Egypt had horses and chariots and the capacity to defend Judah against all comers. It was logical and wise ... but it was wrong. God said that Egypt's help was "vain and empty" (Isa. 30:7). God's people had demanded of those who speak for God, "You must not prophesy to us what is right" (Isa. 30:10) and "Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel" (Isa. 30:11). Here's how God starts out Isa. 30, a synopsis of the problem:

"Woe to the rebellious children," declares the LORD, "Who execute a plan, but not Mine, and make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, in order to add sin to sin" (Isa. 30:1)

"Um ... okay, Stan," you might repeat, "where are you going with this?" We can all see the problem in Israel at the time. They followed logical, wise thinking carefully and coolly and came to the wrong conclusion. "Don't talk to me about the power of God," they said, "show me something that works." They were in a fight for their lives and rather than simply ask God about it, they did what looked right.

Here's where I'm going with it. We are facing an election in less than a year now. The offerings of good candidates are slim. There is a large consensus among biblical Christians that Hillary would be a serious problem. On the other hand, Giuliani, who has perhaps the potential to beat Hillary, has his own problems in the form of personal character and his views on issues like abortion -- no small issues. Some (like myself) have suggested "We cannot vote for either of them." Others raise this oft-repeated statement: "A vote for anyone who cannot beat Hillary is a vote for Hillary." Okay, something like it.

Do you see the parallel? Hillary is a dangerous candidate to people with biblical Christian values. She is dangerous because of her views and she is dangerous because of her popularity. She is a political superpower that threatens our well-being. So what do we do? Well, we do the rational thing. We find someone that can defeat her and ally ourselves with him. That makes sense. We need to fight evil, and keeping her out of the presidency does that, even if the person who takes that role in her place isn't as good as we'd like. It seems to me that too many of God's people in America are willing to align themselves with an entity known to be opposed to Christian views to defend themselves against a worse entity known to be opposed to Christian views. As in the case of Israel's alliance with Egypt, this makes perfect sense. It is logical and reasonable and wise ... but is it equally wrong? Are we making the same mistake Israel made? Are we going to tell people who speak for God, "Don't tell us what is right" like the reaction to Dobson when he suggested perhaps we ought not vote for Giuliani? Are we going to suggest that this is a matter best left to voters and "Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel"? Are we going to execute a plan that is not God's plan and make an alliance that is not of God's Spirit?

God offers an alternate path for Israel in the passage I was reading.

For thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said, "In repentance and rest you will be saved. In quietness and trust is your strength." (Isa. 30:15).

Remember ...

The LORD longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him (Isa. 30:18).

Whether I'm right or not, these are things to keep in mind. Having offered them to you now, I'm wondering if I'm far afield in my thinking or is the parallel valid? Are we making alliances with Egypt to defeat Assyria, so to speak, when we aim to vote for "anyone who can beat Hillary"? Are we relying on the world's horses and chariots as it were rather than on God's divine plan and power? Are we making the same mistake they did? Because the results would have been catastrophic.

Note: For the actual results, read 2 Chronicles 32:1-22. Turns out depending on God rather than human measures seems to produce a better outcome.