the Assyrian army was raising a great threat to Judah. The leaders of Judah formed a plan to handle them without seeking God. While their plan to form an alliance with Egypt seemed to make sense to them, it was in direct rebellion against God. They added "sin to sin". First was the sin of trusting in their own plans. The second was seeking comfort from their alliance with Egypt.
Proverbs 14:12 and Proverbs 16:25 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
Isaiah 30:10 ...and to the prophets, "Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way; get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!"
The people wanted to do things their own way. They didn't want to listen to the prophets who were conveying God's warnings and instructions.
Isaiah 30:15 "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it."
Isaiah gives them the alternative to living by their own plans in Isaiah 30:15. The beauty in this verse gives us the hope we need when we get wrapped up in our own plans. God's plan for the people was rest through salvation and strength through trust in His way. But they wanted to do things their own way. Sometimes, just like the people in Isaiah's day, we choose to do things our own way and in our own strength too.
A well-thought-out plan brings me security and comfort. So, when things don't work out like I think they should, or I feel threatened and uneasy about life circumstances, I often push ahead and try to do things my own way. In the depths of my heart, I know I need to trust God and rest in His will, but too often I think, if I can just figure everything out and make a plan, it will all be okay.
Isaiah 30:18 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;therefore He will rise up to show you compassion. But the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for Him!
God's plan for you is rest and strength through Him alone. Even though the people had obstinately rejected God's plan, God chose to exercise continual patience so that when the people did turn to Him, His mercy and wisdom would be waiting to be poured out on them.
Isaiah 30:19-21
19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Isaiah 30:30 The LORD will cause people to hear His majestic voice.
When Judah was prosperous and comfortable, they wouldn’t listen to God. Now, God has given them the bread of adversity and water of affliction, but they can hear God and be guided by Him again. It’s always better to be uncomfortable and in tune with the Lord than to be comfortable and out of step with God.