GOING BACK TO EGYPT
Isaiah speaks of Christ healing the stammering tongue (see Isaiah 33:19). The Hebrew word for "stammer" in this passage means "a defective utterance." This is the voice of uncertainty and hesitation, one that speaks a word without power or any ring of truth.
Listen to the prophet's solemn words on this subject: "The vile person will speak villainy, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice hypocrisy" (32:6). The Hebrew word for villainy here means "foolishness, a wicked crime." It comes from the word nabal, which means "dolt, fool."
Isaiah is telling us, "Only a wicked, doltish man attempts to deliver God's word while indulging in sin. His words come out as utter foolishness!" Such a man commits "utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail" (same verse). His own error ends up misleading others.
I am convinced that one particular sin, more than any other, causes such blatant distortion of truth. It is the sin of unbelief, which is rampant in many ministries today.
God calls the sin of unbelief "going back to Egypt." "Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help . . . but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord!" (31:1). "Woe to the rebellious children . . . that take counsel, but not of me . . . that walk to go down into Egypt" (30:1-2).
Isaiah was dumbfounded when he saw many of Israel's leaders mount their horses and gallop to Egypt to try to get counsel on national policy and security. These were the same men who told the prophet they had no time to seek the Lord or consult with Him. But God didn't take their actions lightly. He called it all rebellion and pronounced woe upon them!
Today, nothing has changed. Multitudes of Christians crisscross the country attending seminars and conventions with a "go to Egypt" mentality. They are networking, strategizing, borrowing worldly methods, getting flesh-inspired counsel. In short, they are looking for any new thing that might excite them.
But the praying servant who trusts God wholly knows he has no time for Egyptian concepts. The only place he runs is to his secret closet—where he gets his counsel on his knees!
Listen to the prophet's solemn words on this subject: "The vile person will speak villainy, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice hypocrisy" (32:6). The Hebrew word for villainy here means "foolishness, a wicked crime." It comes from the word nabal, which means "dolt, fool."
Isaiah is telling us, "Only a wicked, doltish man attempts to deliver God's word while indulging in sin. His words come out as utter foolishness!" Such a man commits "utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail" (same verse). His own error ends up misleading others.
I am convinced that one particular sin, more than any other, causes such blatant distortion of truth. It is the sin of unbelief, which is rampant in many ministries today.
God calls the sin of unbelief "going back to Egypt." "Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help . . . but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord!" (31:1). "Woe to the rebellious children . . . that take counsel, but not of me . . . that walk to go down into Egypt" (30:1-2).
Isaiah was dumbfounded when he saw many of Israel's leaders mount their horses and gallop to Egypt to try to get counsel on national policy and security. These were the same men who told the prophet they had no time to seek the Lord or consult with Him. But God didn't take their actions lightly. He called it all rebellion and pronounced woe upon them!
Today, nothing has changed. Multitudes of Christians crisscross the country attending seminars and conventions with a "go to Egypt" mentality. They are networking, strategizing, borrowing worldly methods, getting flesh-inspired counsel. In short, they are looking for any new thing that might excite them.
But the praying servant who trusts God wholly knows he has no time for Egyptian concepts. The only place he runs is to his secret closet—where he gets his counsel on his knees!