Isaiah 31

Flesh, and Not Spirit

Egypt’s horses are only flesh, but the Lord defends Jerusalem like a lion over its prey and like birds hovering over their nest.

c. 703–701 BC Read with footnotes in Gospel Library

Background

This short chapter continues the argument of chapter 30. Judah’s leaders are still looking to Egypt for chariots and cavalry to fight Assyria.

This short chapter continues the argument of chapter 30. Judah’s leaders are still looking to Egypt for chariots and cavalry to fight Assyria. Isaiah answers with two unforgettable images of how the Lord Himself will defend Jerusalem: a lion that won’t be scared off its prey, and a mother bird hovering over her nest.

It ends with a prophecy that the Assyrians will fall “with the sword, not of a mighty man” (verse 8), fulfilled when the Lord struck the Assyrian camp in a single night (Isa. 37:36).

The thread through the chapter

The key to Isaiah 31 is one sentence in verse 3: “Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit.”

The key to Isaiah 31 is one sentence in verse 3: “Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit.”

Judah was impressed by numbers and strength: chariots “because they are many,” horsemen “because they are very strong” (verse 1). Isaiah doesn’t dispute that Egypt had a strong army. He simply points out what it is. Men are not God, and flesh is not spirit. When the Lord stretches out His hand, both the helper and the helped fall together.

Then Isaiah shows what real protection looks like. The Lord is like a lion standing over its prey, unbothered by a crowd of shouting shepherds (verse 4). He will not be scared off Mount Zion. He is also like birds hovering over their nest, and “passing over he will preserve it” (verse 5). That word “passing over” is the same Hebrew verb as Passover. The God who passed over Israel’s houses in Egypt will pass over Jerusalem.

So the invitation is simple: “Turn ye unto him” (verse 6). Throw away the idols your own hands made (verse 7). The Assyrian will fall by a sword that is not human (verse 8). Egypt can offer flesh; the Lord offers Himself.

Tap any highlighted phrase to open a note beneath its versein the margin.

Verses 1–3

Horses of flesh

In plain words

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, trust in their many chariots and in the great strength of their cavalry, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or seek the Lord! Yet He too is wise and can bring disaster; He does not take back His words. He will rise up against the house of the wicked and against those who help evildoers. The Egyptians are human, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the Lord stretches out His hand, the helper will stumble, the one helped will fall, and both will perish together.

1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!

Liken It #

Impressed by numbers

Notice the reasons Judah trusted Egypt: chariots “because they are many,” horsemen “because they are very strong.”

Notice the reasons Judah trusted Egypt: chariots “because they are many,” horsemen “because they are very strong.” It’s the logic of numbers and power. And the tragic contrast: “but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD.”

Scripture repeatedly teaches that numbers don’t determine the outcome when the Lord is involved. Gideon’s 300 routed Midian (Judg. 7:2–7). Elisha told his frightened servant, “they that be with us are more than they that be with them” (2 Kgs. 6:16–17). Helaman’s 2,000 stripling warriors, few and young, were preserved by their faith: “We do not doubt our mothers knew it” (Alma 56:47–48).

2 Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.

3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.

Liken It #

Men, not God; flesh, not spirit

This is the chapter’s central line. The contrast is not between weak and strong, but between flesh and spirit, between what is mortal and limited and what is divine.

This is the chapter’s central line. The contrast is not between weak and strong, but between flesh and spirit, between what is mortal and limited and what is divine. Any help that is merely human, however impressive, belongs to the first category.

Nephi prayed, “I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh” (2 Ne. 4:34). Jeremiah said the same: “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm” (Jer. 17:5–8). This doesn’t mean human help is worthless. The Lord often works through people. But no human resource should take the place of the Lord.

Verses 4–5

The lion and the hovering birds

In plain words

This is what the Lord told me: “As a lion, a great lion, growls over its prey and is not frightened by the shouts or disturbed by the noise of a whole band of shepherds called together against it, so the Lord of hosts will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill.” Like birds hovering overhead, the Lord of hosts will shield Jerusalem. He will shield it and deliver it; He will pass over it and rescue it.

4 For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.

5 As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.

Witness of Christ #

Hovering like a mother bird

The second image is the opposite of the first, gentle where the lion was fierce.

The second image is the opposite of the first, gentle where the lion was fierce. The Lord hovers over Jerusalem like birds flying above their nest to protect their young. Moses used the same picture: “As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings” (Deut. 32:11).

Jesus used it for Himself. Weeping over Jerusalem, He said, “how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matt. 23:37). The risen Lord said the same to the Nephites after the destruction (3 Ne. 10:4–6). The Lord is both the lion and the mother bird: fierce against enemies and tender toward His own.

Verses 6–9

Turn to Him

In plain words

Return to the One you have so deeply rebelled against, people of Israel! For in that day every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold your sinful hands have made. Assyria will fall by a sword that is not human; a sword not of mortals will devour them. They will flee before the sword, and their young men will be put to forced labor. Their stronghold will fall because of terror; at the sight of the battle standard their commanders will panic, says the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

6 Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.

7 For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.

8 Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.

9 And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

Seeing Christ in Isaiah 31

In Isaiah 31, Jesus Christ is both lion and mother bird (verses 4–5): unmovable against enemies, tender over His own. He used the image of the hen gathering her chicks for Himself (Matt. 23:37; 3 Ne. 10:4–6). And the promise that the Lord will “pass over” and preserve Jerusalem (verse 5) points to Him as our Passover Lamb, whose blood turns away the destroyer (1 Cor. 5:7).

The contrast of flesh and spirit (verse 3) also points to Him. He is the one help that is not merely flesh, the God who became flesh so that we could be born of the Spirit (John 1:14; John 3:6).

Liken it to yourself

What am I tempted to trust “because they are many” or “because they are very strong”? How can I remind myself that those things are “flesh, and not spirit”?
Which image of the Lord do I need more right now: the lion that won’t be scared away, or the bird hovering over the nest?
Verse 6 says “turn ye unto him.” What’s one specific way I can turn toward the Lord this week?

Worth exploring next

Passover. Read Ex. 12:1–28 with Isaiah 31:5. Then read 1 Cor. 5:7 and 3 Ne. 9:19–20. How is Christ our Passover?
Arm of flesh. Compare Isaiah 31:1–3 with Jer. 17:5–8, 2 Ne. 4:34, and D&C 1:19–20.

Sources & further reading

“Egypt”, Bible Dictionary.
“Assyria and Babylonia”, Bible Dictionary.
Chapter 15: Prophecies of the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times (Isaiah 24–35), Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi (2003).
John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, New International Commentary on the Old Testament, 2 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986–1998.

I’ve studied Isaiah 31