Isaiah 31:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

For it was the Babylonians who captured Judah, the most sacred city, Jerusalem, and took the Israelites into captivity; yet, God showed grace to those who remained in Judah. However, when they feared a renewed conflict with the Assyrians and contemplated turning to Egypt for refuge, the One who saves commanded them through Jeremiah not to go down to Egypt. Even in their continued disobedience, believing that human aid would offer salvation, they met with disaster in Egypt and faced complete ruin. Therefore, the prophet laments their fate, proclaiming woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, for they did not trust in the mighty deliverer but in the multitude of horses and chariots that Egypt could provide.

After the burden incurred by the creatures of the south and those who sent their wealth to Egypt, relying on a people unable to aid them, hoping for reinforcement from Pharaoh’s might, and depending on the protection of Egypt's shadow, the prophetic utterance foretold, in the context of the return to Jerusalem and deliverance from captivity by Cyrus, the end times and the ultimate joy of the righteous. It now returns to admonish those who were warned previously against descending into Egypt. The distinction between the previous warning and the current one lies in the fact that while it once instructed the tribe of Judah not to go to Egypt, now, as they prepare to do so, disregarding the Lord's command, it is foretold that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, will lay waste to both Israel and Egypt, including those who fled and those who aided them, as outlined in Jeremiah 42.

Thus, woe to those who journey to Egypt and, out of fear of the Chaldeans, scorn the commandments of the Lord, trusting in idolaters who claim to honor God, relying on equine strength while ignoring the truth of the written word: “A horse is a deceit for salvation” (Psalm 32:17). They place their faith in chariots and riders, forgetting the song, “The horse and the rider He has thrown into the sea” (Exodus 15:1). They did not trust in the Holy One of Israel, who through Jeremiah had promised His assistance to those who remained in Judah. Their seeking of the Lord was not genuine; they held contempt for the words of the One who they failed to seek. This is why it is also said of the corrupt priests, “My people have not called upon the Lord” (Psalm 52:5).

But the wise Lord Himself orchestrated for them the worst calamity, manifest in Nebuchadnezzar or symbolizing a form of disaster, and He has not undone His prophetic declarations. Therefore, He will rise against the tribe of Judah, against the house of the wicked and the aid of the sinful Egyptians. The Egyptians, as translated in the Septuagint, are mere mortals, not divine; their horses are flesh, not spirit. Thus it is written in Jeremiah: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. He shall be like the shrub in the desert and shall not see when good comes” (Jeremiah 17:5-6).

In another passage, it is stated, “The salvation of man is emptiness” (Psalms 59:13), or, as it is more accurately rendered in Hebrew, a reference to humanity. When the Lord extends His hand to discipline, likened to a charioteer who turns and reins in the galloping horses, both the Egyptian aide and Israel, who sought assistance, will fall. This understanding also applies to those who, amidst persecution, distress, and tribulation, do not rely on the Lord, but instead on the Egyptians and worldly individuals, unaware that Abraham faced peril in Egypt, and that God's people toiled in that land, a place spiritually referred to as the furnace of iron. Therefore, John's Revelation states that the place where our Lord was crucified is symbolically termed Sodom and Egypt (Rev. 11:8).