Isaiah 31:8, commentary and pictures

Isaiah, whose name means Jehovah is salvation, spoke this word between 760 and 698 B.C., beginning in his youth in the reign of Uzziah and continuing through the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. It belongs to the first part of the book, chapters 1-39, and to the prophecies in chapters 24-35 that look forward especially to the last days and to the judgments of God upon the earth. It stands in chapters 23-39 among mighty prophecies of the future, near and far, joined with strong denunciations of Ephraim and Judah and with a repeated forward look to the coming and reign of Christ. It belongs to the prophecies of chapters 28 to 33 concerning Israel, and Israel in those chapters is typical of conditions in the Christian age.

Its immediate setting is God's rebuke of forsaking Him to seek help in Egypt, which was spiritual fornication and rebellion against Him. In chapters 28-31 it teaches against trusting in men and shows how frail men are. It belongs to a prophecy linked with millennial times and the Lord's coming to defend Jerusalem, and in that context its description is not to be taken literally.

Its setting in the crucial times of Judah is typical of the great days to come, sharing in Isaiah's witness as the Gospel prophet to the last days, the sufferings and work of Jesus Christ, and the kingdom of glory to come. The same guilt belongs to professed Christian churches today that seek union with the civil power, since God has given fullness of blessing in Jesus Christ, demands the whole allegiance of His church, and will not divide His glory with another.