The Result of Inadequate Protection

Pastor Bill Farrow

Isaiah 1:30-31

30 For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades,
And as a garden that has no water.
31 The strong shall be as tinder,
And the work of it as a spark;
Both will burn together,
And no one shall quench them. 

And the strong - Those who have been thought to be strong, on whom the people relied for protection and defense - their rulers, princes, and the commanders of their armies. All the things that Israel thought would protect them would fail and there would be no protection.  This is because they were looking to everything EXCEPT that which they should have been trusted – the strong right arm of God.  That right arm was the only thing that could have protected them from the coming invasion – but they removed themselves from that protection and thus, were at the mercy of the merciless invaders.

As tow - The coarse or broken part of flax, or hemp. It means here that which shall be easily and quickly kindled and rapidly consumed, we would call it tinder, and so it is translated here. As tow burns and is destroyed at the touch of fire, so shall the rulers of the people be consumed by the approaching calamities. This underscores the tremendous vulnerability of Jewish nation.  They appeared strong – they had an apparent strength, but it was inadequate because it was founded on themselves, and not on God.  Also, it was contrary means that God desired to preserve them.  He did not wish them to rely on the sword, or on other alliances to preserve their national identity and the spiritual heritage.  He wished them to rely on Him and Him alone!  He wanted to be their defense!

And the maker of it - This is an unhappy translation. The word used may be indeed a participle, and be rendered ‘its maker,’ but it is more commonly a noun, and means his work, or his action. This is its plain meaning here. It means, that as a spark enkindles tinder, so the works or deeds of a wicked nation shall be the occasion or cause of their destruction. The ambition of one man is the cause of his ruin; the sensuality of a second is the cause of his; the avarice of a third is the cause of his. These passions, insatiable and ungratified, shall be the occasion of the deep and eternal sorrows of hell. So it means here, that the crimes and hypocrisy of the nation would be the real cause of all the calamities that would come upon them as a people. Obviously, there is a lesson to be learned here.  Our own nation stands in grave danger on this front.  We are hypocritical in much that we do around the world and we need to take care, and turn our hearts to God, humbling ourselves before Him if we are to survive as a national entity.

Shall both burn together - The spark and the flame from the kindled flax mingle, and make one fire. So the people and their works would be enkindled and destroyed together. This is the sad truth of chastening.  Both the works and the people involved are destroyed when God finally turns His hand to judgment.  They would burn so rapidly, that nothing could extinguish them. The meaning is, that the nation would be punished; and that all their works of idolatry and monuments of sin would be the occasion of their punishment, and would perish at the same time. The “principle” involved in this passage teaches us the following things:

(1) That the wicked, however mighty, shall be destroyed. That there are innocents among them will not, finally, stay the hand of God, for, really, there are no innocents before Him.

(2) That their works will be the “cause” of their ruin - a cause necessarily leading to it.

(3) That the works of the wicked - all that they do and all on which they depend - shall be destroyed.

(4) That this destruction shall be final. Nothing shall stay the flame. No tears of penitence, no power of men or devils, shall “put out” the fires which the works of the wicked shall enkindle. Any and all preparation on the part of the wicked, which they rely upon for their defense, will prove to be inadequate and ultimately will fail them.